Automobile accidents are a leading cause of death for Americans and others around the globe, and with increased automobile traffic and increased speed limits, the number of fatalities is rising. At the present, automobile safety engineers have focused on methods to dissipate crash energy through an automobile's crumple zones and systems to restrain momentum of the occupants of a vehicle in the event of a crash. Seat belts have been the vanguard safety feature in automobiles for a generation and are rightly credited with saving countless lives. The addition of frontal crash and side curtain airbags has also helped mitigate crash fatalities. However, both systems have limitations and may also become a contributing source of injury.
Seat belts when installed around a user are configured with a gear and pawl mechanism with allows a user to extend the belt and move within the seat at a moderate rate of speed. However, in the event of a crash, the seat belt will lock into a rigid configuration and restrain the user against the crash energy. In this situation it is common that the seat belt straps will cause bruising, possible broken ribs, internal injuries and in some cases even broken vertebrae. Air bags provide a less rigid restraint when deployed but again they have limitations which can cause injury. In the event of a crash, in order for an air bag to be fully deployed before the passenger strikes the bag, it must inflate very rapidly, to such an extent that the front of the air bags will be traveling a speed approaching 200 MPH. In cases where the passenger collides with the air bag before it is fully deployed, the force of deployment can be transferred to the passenger and again can break ribs or some cases cause a broken neck, resulting in paralysis or death. Also as air bags are deployed by the explosive charges, in many instances the inflation of the air bag will be accompanied by an open flame front which may burn the hands, arms and face of the passenger. Currently there are issues with the explosive charges from air bags creating shrapnel from the casing or packaging and again causing serious injury and/or death. These elevated risks from air bags may be justifiable in the event of a high speed crash. However, air bags often deploy during relatively harmless bumps and “fender benders” and ultimately cause serious injury in events where there was little or no risk to the passengers.
What is needed is a passenger safety system that does not act against or restrain the passenger but still reduces the destructive forces transferred to the passenger. It may be used in conjunction with less restrictive seat belts or air bags having a moderated explosive charge.